Remember how I told you that the forecast called for rain for the next 4-5 days? Well, they were right! It's been raining non-stop for days. We've been only going out for food at Maxima (small grocery store) and restaurants close by. The computers, tv, phones, iPad, books and card games have an all time high of being in use. We only have 2 converters that work here, so it's a hot commodity to plug in your item when it's low on juice.
On a positive note, we have had 2 social worker visits throughout our stay. Both went very well and the social worker was very happy with how our family has bonded and progressed with this first transition with Andris. Normally we would wait until the 2nd court date to go to the US Embassy for a Visa approval because they need the paperwork from that court. However, due to Mrs Hillary Clinton visiting the Embassy here, we had our appointment before we had the court date and the Visa was approved pending court status. At that time we were told that public AND private schools are not permitted on Andris' Visa, so we'll have to figure schooling out in the fall.
A few days later we went to our court appointment, early this time! (Referring to an earlier post regarding our Griswold arrival for our first court date. Scan back if you need a refresher...June 12th was the date.) At court they asked us if we've received all our paperwork for Andris, if we still want to continue with the adoption (uh, yeah), our activities since we've been here, if we've thought about medical insurance, schooling, living arrangements at home, etc. We answered all to the best of our ability (;-) and then they asked Andris questions like does he realize he'll be the oldest of 5 children, he'll have responsibilities as a family member, etc. He said that he wants to be part of this family, he wants to come home with us, and that he loves us. I teared up because these are the words that you rarely hear from a child, let alone a teenager and it touched my heart. This boy has been living in an orphanage almost his entire life, the past four years he has been praying for a family to belong to, and here we are.
After our question/answer period, we were told to wait in the hallway for their decision. We waited for about 5 minutes (which is a long time to wait) and I prayed for God's hand in the decision. I know Andris is supposed to be in this family, God has been in the driver's seat all along, but it doesn't hurt to pray. :)
They called us in, read the verdict that they believe us adopting Andris is in his best interest and granted custody at that moment until we can complete the adoption process. Boo Yah.
We were so excited and happy! We were dropped off at the apartment and went over to Queens, one of the kids' favorite restaurants for lunch and promptly ruined it with tons of whining, misbehavior and crying. Awesome. Well, you can't win them all. LOL.
Tomorrow we are squeezing in Jurmala to see the Baltic Sea, Lido to go on the bounce houses one last time, and have the rental lady walk through the apartment to make sure we didn't ruin anything and need to pay for replacements. Guess I'll be doing a pre-walk through, walk through. :-0
Then...we'll pack! We're almost home! I can't wait!
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